Software firm leaving Halfmoon office park for Hedley Park Place

By Larry Rulison

Published 6:43 pm, Thursday, May 29, 2014

Apprenda, one of the Capital Region's most rapidly growing high-tech firms, has moved from suburban Saratoga County into Hedley Park Place — one of downtown Troy's most promising redevelopment projects.

Although Troy is home to high-tech start-ups such as video game developer 1st Playable Productions and the semiconductor firm Evident Technologies, it has been rare for local tech firms to make the move from suburbia to city locations. The company, which employs 50 people, was previously located at an office park in Halfmoon.

"We like the growing creative culture that Troy has, with its walkable downtown," said Jesse Kliza, senior director of marketing at Apprenda. "It's much more interesting than being in a corporate office park setting, and a lot of our employees live in Troy or nearby."

Apprenda, a computer software company that specializes in cloud computing, is leasing 20,000 square feet of space on the fourth floor of the Hedley building from First Columbia, the building's owner, with an option to expand to 35,000 square feet in two years.

Apprenda has been under pressure to expand after receiving $16 million last fall from several high-profile investment firms, including New Enterprise Associates and Ignition Partners.

Hedley Park Place, once home to the Cluett, Peabody & Co. shirt factory, has 272,000 square feet of space that overlooks the Hudson River. First Columbia has also been working to redevelop a large stretch of the city along that part of the river as part of what's being called the Hedley District.

The Hedley building has been undergoing a resurgence in the last several years after a 2011 decision by the state to vacate 136,000 square feet of space there. The building is now back up to 90 percent occupancy, most of which is from private employers like Express Scripts and now Apprenda.

"Our goal was to attract high tech and professional companies, whose employees are capable of supporting the city and its economy," said Victoria Harris, marketing director of First Columbia. "We're treating the Hedley building as a company incubator, of sorts, because we can work with early stage ventures and meet their needs as they grow within our buildings."